Hilary

In the Books

Boy, another holiday season has come and gone. It really does feel like just the other day we were unpacking the moving truck and hauling boxes into our new house. I remember telling Craig, even on that blistering July day, I really wanted to have Christmas in our new house this year. That Craig, he always delivers.

The girls have been out of school for close to two weeks. I had envisioned them spending a few days with my parents while I got the rest of the holiday festivities in order, but unfortunately, my mom fell ill and my folks weren’t able to make it up for Christmas. It was different not celebrating with them, but my in-laws filled the house with their presence and presents. Family is family and that’s is what makes the memories.

The girls were staying up way past their regular bedtime over the break, even getting to stay up to wait for their Uncle Brandon to come in from NYC late Christmas Eve. While they waited for him, they prepared for the arrival of another favorite fellow of theirs.

Then, with much pleading and cajoling, we got them to go to bed. Teeth brushed, pajamas on, snug as bugs in their make-shift camp-out on the floor. Their heads hit the pillow and the silence was golden.

Why yes, Coever sleeps with an eye pillow. Beauty rest assured.

In the morning, the girls showed remarkable restraint and let everyone sleep in until about 7:15. Everyone was pretty agreeable to that time frame, though I did think Mo and Co were going to shank Brandon when he didn’t get out of the bed after their multiple attempts to rouse him. While we waited for him to ~~come to~~ get up, the girls were content to decimate their stockings before the main event.

And finally, to the gifts! Months and weeks of carefully hiding and wrapping, storing, and planning on my part: decimated in a matter of minutes. Their smiles and cries of, “I got what I wanted! I got the whole set!” — priceless.

In the aftermath of the great unwrapping, there was food, lots of food. Remarkably, we showed restraint this year and just had a modest brunch followed by a deliciously cooked dinner from my dear hubby (I like how at Thanksgiving and Christmas, Craig helms the kitchen!).

There was lots of loving to go around, too.

And the requisite silliness that comes with a revolving door of family and friends.

In the midst of all of this, I realized I have been living the past two weeks like it’s my first time home on a college break?

Sleeping in? Check.

Shuffling around in yoga pants all.day.long? Check.

Grubbing down on food? Check.

Hitting up the movies? Check.

Reading books? Check.

Date night with the hubs? Check.

Spending time with family? Check.

Generally avoiding schedules and just letting the day unfold? Check and check.

I weaned myself off of Pinterest and Facebook a bit, too. Talk about Christmas miracles. The past two weeks have been great and it seems appropriate that it all comes to a close just as this year does, too.

I can’t even begin to remember where I was 365 days ago. Despite years of conditioning to improve myself as the new year rolls around, this time last year, I kept it realistic and adopted a “new year, same Hilary” mentality. That was not a hard resolution to follow.

In truth, however, I did do some things this year that lead to a better me.

*I started a business and am enjoying the successes that have come with it.

*I wrote more. Last year, I blogged 80 times. This year, this post included –128.

*I broke some old habits (nail biting) and picked up some new ones (Pinterest).

*I stayed active and hung up my running shoes in favor of kettlebells.

*I flossed. . .occasionally.

*I was a better wife and mother than I was last year.

Not a bad go round, if I do say so myself.

So I’m sitting here in the living room New Year’s Eve with Craig dozing across from me on the couch. Our tree is naked, save a few strands of lights. It’s shedding like it knows we’re about to haul it out to the curb and it wants to leave a few thousand reminders of its presence. The ornaments and the scant decorations we did have up are ready to be tucked back into the attic. The fridge is puzzle of ziploc bags and tupperware containers of leftovers, gonna-eat-its, time-to-toss-its and a few cans of Fresca. The girls are up to their eyeballs in Christmas: Part Deux at my parents house. 2011 is steadily putting one foot in front of the other, coming to a graceful end, while 2012 is stretching out it’s hammies in preparation for the journey ahead.

I’m ready.

Oh! I almost forgot. I started another new project, but it won’t be ready until June. Here’s a preview:

Happy New Year!

IN: ON: December 24, 2011 TAGS: holidays, sharing, winter BY: Hilary

Merry Christmas

(source)

Eat dessert. Give out hugs. Get some kisses. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Say “I love you.” Drive safely. Smile. Take lots of pictures. Have seconds. Take a nap. Put away your phone. Play cards. Play a board game. Really listen. Share. Continue a tradition. Start a new one. Be in the moment.

However you choose to celebrate this time of year, do so wholeheartedly. I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas filled with the family, the friends, the food, and the fellowship that brings you joy and love.

Merry Christmas!

IN: ON: December 23, 2011 TAGS: holidays BY: Hilary

recipes

Recipe Friday

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I really want some spaghetti and meatballs. So random, I know, what with it being Christmas Eve-Eve. I should be wanting some cookies or egg nog or some kind of peppermint based ooey, gooey goodness.
My taste buds and my tummy didn’t get the memo. Truth be told, I don’t really care for peppermint treats and after the bake-a-thon we had earlier this week, I’m kind of cookie-ed out. I know! I’m just as surprised as you are!

I’m in the mood for something savory and something super comforting. SN: My mom fell ill earlier this week and won’t be able to join us for Christmas. My dad, ever the dutiful husband, is going to stay home to nurse her back to health. This is the first Christmas in a long time when I haven’t seen my folks and I think I’m feeling kind of badly about it. Actually, I know I’m feeling badly about it, hence the need for some comfort food. Spaghetti and meatballs definitely makes the list.

This recipe I originally got from my mom’s next-door neighbor. When I looked it up online, there turned out to be two different versions, both accompanied by the Danza family Sunday Sauce. One version of the meatballs calls for pork ribs in addition to the pound of ground meat. The meatball recipe from the neighbor had omitted that, so that’s what I’m sharing with you now.

As for the Sunday Sauce, well, I haven’t made it yet. I’m Prego or Ragu girl, sometimes a Classico or Francesco Rinaldi. I would rather start with that as a base and then add my own concoction of herbs, spices, wines and meats to get something really special going. Besides, when I’m busy making meatballs, I’m just trying to get it from the pan to the plate in as few steps as possible.

One note on this recipe – it calls for a tablespoon of salt, which I think is quite a bit. I usually do half; I’d rather the salt the meatballs with my meal than not be able to enjoy it at all. I’m happy to eat this with a salad and some buttered bread, but it tastes pretty good as a stand-alone dish, too.

Enjoy and have a very, very Happy Holiday!

Sunday Sauce with Meatballs (recipe found here)

Sauce:
2 cans (35 ounces each) plum tomatoes with basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

Meatballs
1 pound ground sirloin or lean ground beef, pork, turkey, veal, chicken, or any combination
2 eggs
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

1. Strain the tomatoes in a colander to extract the juice, breaking the tomatoes apart with your hands. Discard the pulp. (This eliminates the bitter part of the tomato.)

2. Now make the meatballs. Put the ground meat in a mixing bowl. Beat the eggs and add them to the meat along with 6 cloves garlic, the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Parmesan, and milk. Mix this all together with your hands. Wet your hands with water and continue to wet them as you pinch meat from the bowl and roll into 2-inch balls. Roll the balls in the flour.

3. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add 3 cloves chopped garlic and sauté until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the meatballs and sauté over medium-high heat, turning them, until they are brown all over. As soon as you can pick them up with a fork, they are ready. You don’t want them to be well done. (If the meatball slides off the fork when you pick it up, it needs to cook a little longer.)

4. Back to the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add 4 cloves garlic, the onion, red and black pepper and sauté until the onion is soft and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the juiced tomatoes, red wine, Parmesan, and salt. Add the tomato paste and the water and stir together over medium heat. Add the meatballs. Bring to an easy boil, then simmer over low heat for 2 hours.

5. Add the basil and simmer for 15 minutes more. The meatballs should float in the sauce.

IN: recipes ON: December 23, 2011 TAGS: baking, cooking, food, om nom nom, recipes BY: Hilary

Sparkles

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I need to invest in something sparkly and fun. I haven’t worn anything with sequins since 1984 when a handful of 4 year olds and I performed “Kids are People, Too!” during Miss Ryder’s School of Ballet spring recital. I’m not saying I’m retiring my black, gray, and navy staples. It’s just time to add a splash of “wheeeeee!’ into the mix. I’m ready to twinkle this holiday season.

IN: ON: December 22, 2011 TAGS: holidays, random BY: Hilary

Cookie Monsters

The girls are on Christmas break and I have no clue what to do to occupy our time. We had a few playdates, a birthday party here and there, but I was counting on them having some quality time with my parents. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans. So what’s a girl to do?

I broke out the cookie press, most certainly assuring my place on the “nice” list this year.

The cookie press promised to make cookie baking a breeze, of course, you can’t always believe everything you read. Last year, I called myself being smart and used some Pillsbury Slice and Bake sugar cookie dough that I squished into the pressing chamber. The results were pretty decent. This year however, I whipped up some sugar cookie dough on my own. I mashed it into the chamber, affixed my chosen cut out and began squeezing to my hearts content.

The cookie press, when used correctly, makes a *click* noise when enough dough has been dispensed per cookie per place on the cookie sheet. My press was going,*clickity*clickity*click*click*gimme a break, lady!* Yeah, not fun. Still, I managed to get my two trays filled and in the oven. Then I unscrewed the cookie press and with a kung fu grip that would have made G.I. Joe think twice, I shot the unused dough back into the bowl. Totally satisfying. The remaining dough I just scooped up into drop cookies, flattened with my palm and sprinkled with some Christmas sprinkles. There’s no way I’ll ever be on Top Chef desserts; my sprinkling technique looks like they were done by a blind person with Parkinson’s disease. Still, the cookies tasted pretty good.

When the cookie press cookies came out of the oven, they looked okay, but they were a bit crispy. More like Christmas crackers than cookies (don’t worry, they’ll get eaten). The drop cookies were exactly how you want your sugar cookie to be: kind of round, kind of warm, plenty soft and plenty sugary.

So after the first go-round of cookies, I made some more dough and then I turned Mo and Co loose with the rolling pin, cookie cutters, and sprinkles.

Now you all know that I have a Type A personality. I like a clean kitchen. I can’t stand a mess. I like it when people follow directions. This Christmas cookie endeavor tested all my reserves. Thankfully, I could quell my nerves with my aforementioned Christmas crackers! I figured it my mouth was full, there was no way I could shout, “Keep the sprinkles on the cookies, not the floor!” or “Cut out the dough, don’t eat it!” or “Stop beating your sister with the rolling pin!” Ahhh, the holidays.

I did have to intervene in order to explain to Morgan the concept of “sprinkle” since she decide to clothe her cookie cut-outs in red sugar. “But it’s her Christmas dress,” she said to me. Clearly.

The majority of the cookies were way thicker than the recommended 1/4 inch thickness the recipe recommended. We haven’t covered units of measure in preschool or first grade yet, so whatevs. It was a risk we were willing to take.

When they baked, they puffed up like Lisa Rinna’s old lips.

Despite my hesitation, it turned out to be a great afternoon for me and my girls. The Christmas tree glowed softly in the living room while we had tea and cookies followed by some serious lazing about on the sofas. Sometimes, having no plan is the best plan.

IN: ON: December 22, 2011 TAGS: cooking, crafts, holidays, my girls BY: Hilary

Christmas Countdown

Five more days!

The tree is up, lit, and decorated. I even remembered to water it. In fact, I’m so on top of my tree watering responsibilities, I caused a minor flood in the living room. Note to self: make sure the carpet is dry before trying to suck up stray pine needles with the vacuum or chaos will ensue.

The stockings are hung and I hope I got enough stuff with which to stuff them. You can’t see mine or Craig’s, but they’re up there. I hope Craig got a little something for my stocking. It’s kind of sad to have to stuff your own. Of course, I do have a few things in reserve just in case I need to fill out the toe or something.

The gifts have been purchased, wrapped and secretly stashed in the guest room closet. I told the girls that the Christmas Wish List Deadline has come and gone, so any addendums or amendments will have to be taken up with the jolly elf for next year.

Here’s Morgan’s list. I think she had several pages and gave one to each of her grandmothers and one to me. Covering all of her bases, it would seem. Top items include a coloring book, a stand to put it on (an easel), six sets of paint, brushes, a stool to sit on, and a plate for the paint (a palette). The second page gets into more descriptive talk of magic wands and spell books. This should be an interesting Christmas morning.

Coever kept it short and simple with some illustrations so there would be no confusion. That would be a Zhu-Zhu pet castle set, coloring book, Nintendo DS (DS for those in the know), and perfume.

The menu for Christmas dinner has been planned, tweaked, and all the items have been purchased. It took the better part of the morning and into the afternoon, as well as trips to two separate grocers, but we are prepared. All I can say is that the family better come hungry. During this marathon grocery run, we talked about being on the Nice List and the Naughty List. I asked the girls to give me some examples of when they had been nice in the past few days.

Coever, taking a deep breath, said, “Well. . . .when I was at school? I didn’t push Isabella to get out of my way to use the crayons!”

Oh boy.

Not to be outdone, Morgan inhaled deeply before informing me, “Well! I didn’t cry when Mom said that we couldn’t watch anymore television last night.”

Oy.

I suppose what you don’t do is just as important as what you actually do do, so technically, that counts as being nice.

Moving on. The Christmas dresses arrived, which meant the photo for the Christmas card could be taken. The cards, in turn have been stuffed, addressed, stamped and sent. There were a few minutes during the envelope licking that I felt like that episode from Seinfeld and I was pretty sure I was going to go into an envelope glue induced coma.

Here are a few practice shots from our Christmas Card photo shoot.

Would you believe they were actually fighting over who would get tied up? If I’d been on my game, I’d have tied up the both of them, taken the picture and then gone downstairs for a cup of coffee. They both enjoyed it so much, I had to have them rock, paper, scissors it out to determine who would be tied up on the card. Rock, paper, scissors has miraculously become our peace keeping, problem solving technique around the house. Of course, Morgan caught on early that Coever tends to favor paper over, and over (and over and over), so more often than not, Morgan scissors her way to the win.

School is out for vacation and all of the Christmas parties and pageants have been attended. Morgan’s school had a pageant last Friday. Of course I planned to be there, but I had to do some serious maneuvering to make sure I was on time. I had Coever go to school with a friend so I could get Morgan to school on time and make sure I secured a seat for myself and my camera.

The pageant was scheduled to start promptly at 9am. We got to school at our normal time of about 8:15 and the place was packed. There were some open seats in the back, but I was hoping to get a little closer for some pictures of Morgan and the crew of angels. I was about to slide myself into a pew when this voice says, “Taken! Taken! This row is all taken!” I felt like Forrest Gump when he got on the bus for the first day of school. Um, what happened to the Christmas spirit? We’re in a church! Long story short, the seats in the back were just fine. I got to see Morgan do her thing; the entire living nativity and performance was lovely. And it lasted all of 20 minutes. There truly are Christmas miracles!

Sitting in the back pew of the church, watching Morgan belt out “Gloria” with the chorus of angels, and then seeing her see me when she recessed down the aisle, I felt nostalgic for all the times it was me coming down the row and catching my mom’s eye. Maybe I’m getting sentimental as the holiday season progresses, but I realize how much behind the scenes stuff my mom did to make our holidays and our in between times so special. After the pageant, I called her up and thanked her for all of her sojourns to my elementary school, my middle school, my high school where she sat and applauded concerts, honor society inductions, student council installations and the like. I think that phone call was all the Christmas present she needed.

All in all, it is shaping up to be a wonderful Christmas holiday.

IN: ON: December 20, 2011 TAGS: holidays, sharing, winter BY: Hilary

recipes

Recipe Friday

Despite it being the midst of the holiday season, I have yet to crack the oven open to fire up any holiday treats. No gingerbread men. No sugar cookies. No *gasp* rum balls (it’s going to be a very dry Christmas). It would seem that time and my best of intentions have gotten away from me.

I don’t despair though, because on the savory side of things, I’ve been putting in some serious work. For some reason, whenever I bring groceries into the house, the get eaten. Has this ever happened to you? I put stuff in the pantry, and then the next time I open it to get out fixin’s for another meal, half the store is depleted. What is going here? Who keeps eating the food?

Earlier this week, I was culling stuff together out of the back corners of the pantry and the recesses of the freezer. Monday night, it was “I-wish-it-was-more” tacos. You know, half a tomato, a little bit of lettuce, a pinch of mozzarella, and instead of ground beef, left over chicken from a rotisserie bird Craig had fired up for Sunday dinner. I heated the chicken in a pan and poured some salsa over it to give it a little zing. The children were not impressed. They told me to”please pack my knives and go”.

One night it was baked penne made with half a box of penne, Italian sausage that had been frozen since we moved (uh, that would be July), a quarter of a bag of mozzarella cheese and a jar or spaghetti sauce neither Craig nor I remember buying. Thankfully high temps in the 375 range and high kill off all bacteria and dinner was a more better than we had hoped. And yes, I did set aside a healthy part of that half a box of penne for some buttered noodles for the girls. I’m no dummy; making pasta of any kind means a side of buttered noodles for the preschool set.

By the yesterday, I felt like Old Mother Hubbard, the cupboard was that bare. ‘Lo and behold, though, behind a box holding a single Eggo waffle and peeking out from behind a box of frozen peas (who bought those?), there was a a lone ribeye steak and a container of about 5 sea scallops. Surf and turf, anyone?

I pulled it out and set it to defrost. I opened the fridge and grabbed the remaining three lonely slices of bacon, and reached into the crisper for miracle salad (it was a miracle there were greens in the fridge). I dug out some potatoes and packet of onion soup mix and got to work. When it was all said and done, dinner was seared ribeye steak with bacon wrapped scallops, roasted onion potatoes and a fresh salad. Not to break my arm patting myself on the back, but it was mighty tasty. Craig even got up from the table to plant a kiss on my forehead and say, “That dinner was grrrrrrrrrreat!” Just call me Top Chef.

For some reason, I was under the impression that bacon-wrapped scallops were challenging to make, but as it turns out, it was surprisingly easy. They will definitely be making an appearance at Christmas dinner. What’s going on your holiday menu?

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Recipe courtesy of Recipe Girl. I didn’t make the spicy mayo, but I’m sure it tastes great.

bacon- wrapped scallops w/ spicy cilantro-mayonnaise

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 20 min

These make a wonderful appetizer, but they also are great to nibble as a light dinner!

Ingredients:

Spicy- Cilantro Mayonnaise:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons ground chili paste
1 medium lime, juiced
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

Scallops:
1 1/2 pounds scallops, rinsed and dried
3/4 to 1 pound thin sliced bacon (not center cut), strips cut in half crosswise
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

large lettuce leaves, for serving
lettuce leaves, for serving

Directions:

1. Prepare the spicy cilantro mayo: In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, hot chili paste, lime juice and cilantro; stir well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2. Prepare the scallops: Preheat your oven broiler. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped scallops onto the prepared baking sheet and season them with salt and pepper. Cook them under the broiler for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked through- turning once mid-way through.

3. To serve, line a large platter with lettuce leaves and place the bacon-wrapped scallops on top. Serve with a dish of the spicy mayonnaise for dipping.

Tips:

*The number of scallops this recipe will yield depends entirely on the size of your scallops. I like to use large scallops. They shrink a little bit during the broiling process, but they make a nice and hearty appetizer. Tiny scallops just aren’t very exciting.
*Ground chili paste can usually be found in your market’s Asian product’s aisle (I used one called Sambal Oelek). If you have something similar- maybe another spicy sauce, try substituting that (just add a little at a time until you reach your desired level of heat).
*Make ahead tip: Make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate. Wrap all of your scallops and refrigerate, then just put them under the broiler when you’re ready to serve!

IN: recipes ON: December 16, 2011 TAGS: baking, cooking, food, holidays, om nom nom, recipes BY: Hilary

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Hilary With One L

Hilary With One L

Hilary

Merry Christmas

Recipe Friday

Sunday Sauce with Meatballs (recipe found here)

Sparkles

Cookie Monsters

Recipe Friday

bacon- wrapped scallops w/ spicy cilantro-mayonnaise

Ingredients:

Directions:

Tips: